Simon Greer taking reins at Cummings Foundation

NEW YORK (JTA) — Simon Greer will become the president and CEO at the Nathan Cummings Foundation after serving in the same roles at Jewish Funds for Justice.

Greer, who has been at the helm of Jewish Funds for Justice since 2005, will succeed Lance Lindblom at the Cummings Foundation as of Jan. 1.

Greer is one of three Jewish Funds for Justice’s top executives to make plans this summer to leave the organization. Jeremy Burton, vice president of philanthropic initiatives, will be leading the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, and the group’s chief strategy officer, Mik Moore, will be joining a new organization as a part-time consultant.

The staff exodus comes just weeks after Jewish Funds for Justice merged with the Progressive Jewish Alliance, a California-based group, the Forward reported.

In its announcement Monday, the Cummings Foundation emphasized that the appointment of Greer, 42, is part of a “generational shift” of “innovative new executives who came of age during the modern technological revolution who continue to show profound respect and passion for the tradition of social justice.”

The foundation, which has an endowment of $440 million, describes its mission as “rooted in the Jewish tradition and committed to democratic values. It has provided grants to the New Israel Fund, American Jewish World Service, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, the Union for Reform Judaism, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Jews United for Justice among others.

“It is a great honor to be able to help lead one of the most innovative foundations working to advance the values I believe in and with a track record of thought leadership and field building that is making a real difference,” Greer said.